NY1 captured a sparse but passionate crowd gathered yesterday to support decorated Iraq War Veteran allegedly harassed and beaten by McDonald’s employees in Sunset Park. Luis Montalvan, the disabled veteran who said he was mistreated by employees at the Fifth Ave restaurant, made a statement excoriating the company for its treatment of the disabled and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“McDonald’s should be ashamed of themselves,” Montalvan said. “They should be ashamed of their mistreatment of people with disabilities.”

A veterans organization put on the protest, according to NY1. Mikey Boy commented on this blog that midday Tuesday may have been a difficult time to draw a crowd in this working-class neighborhood. But Montalvan isn’t the only one who balked at the McDonald’s service–Nancy also has gripes with treatment received at the fast-food chain.

The veteran alleges employees repeatedly forced him out of the Fifth Ave restaurant for bringing in his service dog, a right granted to him by the American with Disabilities Act. When he returned to snap a photo to add to a complaint letter, he said two men dressed in McDonald’s uniforms beat him with a trashcan lid. A police report from the incident stated that Montalvan “did not exhibit injuries,” the Star Tribune reported, but Montalvan’s lawyer Robert Wolf said his client was treated for back and neck injuries.

“It doesn’t seem like much on the surface,” Montalvan told the Tribune. “But when you’re a disabled veteran, and you have to deal with this, you just want to be left alone and eat your meal in peace. You just want to blend in.”

***

For a bit of levity, I had to add this:

The NY1 report on the suit didn’t too much meat to the story, but it did top it off with this little twist–a statement issued by McDonald’s spokesperson Zoe Hamburger. Yes. That’s right. Hamburger.

Did someone pull a fast one on NY1? Apparently not. Zoe Hamburger is alive, well and seems to have found her calling.